“The Dozen”
There are hundreds (if not thousands) of fly patterns currently in existence with more being developed even as I write this. However, and this is the relevant fact, you only need about a dozen patterns in different sizes to provide yourself with excellent fishing throughout the entire trout season.
Having said that, I must quickly add the caveat that “the dozen” will vary from one locale to another. Since the bulk of my angling experience over the years has been in Michigan, Wisconsin, and the rivers of the American West, I will endeavor to identify those patterns which will help ensure that you will experience the excitement of a trout engulfing your imitation in any of those venues you are privileged enough to be able to fish.
“The dozen” I would carry in fishing Michigan waters would include the following dry flies: Adams, Hendricksons (both light and dark), hexs, sulfurs, gray drakes, brown drakes, and light cahills, as well as hoppers and ants. The nymphs I would be sure to carry include: black stones, blue-wing olives, light cahill nymphs, and hares-ear nymphs.
For Wisconsin my list would include these dry flies: midges, Griffith gnats, dark Hendricksons, black caddis, hexs, tan caddis, blue-wing olives, tricos, and, of course, hoppers, crickets, and ants. Nymphs include dark hendricksons, blue wing olives, and Prince nymphs.
And for the prolific rivers of the West, I would make sure I had the following along on every trip: midges, blue-wing olives, pale morning duns (PMDs), blue quills, black caddis, tricos, salmon flies, tan caddis, and, those faithful terrestrials--hoppers and ants. And I would never be without midge pupas or PT nymphs in my vest for those times when trout are not active on the surface.
So there you have it--“the dozen.” Now I realize there are a few more than twelve in a couple of categories, but the important thing is that you don’t need every pattern available to have superb fishing year in and year out in those areas. (Regarding the best sizes for “the dozen,” I’ll be glad to provide that information on The Angler’s Roundtable).
In addition to the above, I’d carry muddlers as well as a favorite streamer or two just for those rare occasions when one of “the dozen” won’t work for you.
I hope that this modest effort to bring manageability to a subject that threatens to overwhelm the angler with complexity will be genuinely appreciated by the readers. (The truth is I have one friend who fishes ants exclusively, and catches lots of trout all through the season!) As a wise old fishing companion of mine once remarked: “no sense makin’ trout fishin’ any more difficult than it already is!”